John Koessler - Practicing the Present: The Neglected Art of Living in the Now

Dr. John Koessler puts his finger on the nerve of my spiritual life with everything he writes. This book is a cool drink of water for a thirsty soul. I dont need to be told to do more for God, I need Gods presence to help me live fully this day, this hour. Thank you, Dr. Koessler.

CHRIS FABRY
Host of Chris Fabry Live

John Koesslers book Practicing the Present had me thinking about my life and work from an angle Ive almost never considered beforethe present. Im constantly casting my eyes to the next thing instead of living in the moment. This book helped me see that Ive often missed engaging God and others in the business of the present. Pastoral work is so daily but it is difficult to make the most of that reality. As I read, I wrote down several insights that I need to work through in practice for the good of our church and for my own good as well. Like me, you probably havent read a book with this focus before. Theres no time like the present.

LEE ECLOV
Pastor, author, professor

Its a mistake to live for the moment. Most of us have figured that much out. But few of us know how to live in the moment: fully awake, utterly present, right here, right now. This moment is all the time any of us ever gets, but its so easy to squander it brooding about the past or fretting about the future. Well, just in the nick of time comes John Koesslers Practicing the Present. John is like the rest of us, easily distracted. But unlike many of usokay, unlike mehes mastering the art of inhabiting the momentthis moment, right nowand of dwelling with the God who inhabits it, too.

MARK BUCHANAN
Author of The Rest of God and Godspeed: Walking as Spiritual Formation

Practicing the Present fluently drew me once again into discovery of God actively working in the present regardless of what I am experiencing. Seeing Gods faithfulness in the past moves me to find God in the present alive, well, and active making my eyes to see and ears to hear Him as I live out my created purpose step-by-step in the present. It is so easy to be stuck in the past or the expectations of the future but Koessler shows from beginning to end that joy is found in the present moment. He shows how experiencing God fully in the present brings guidance in intuitive moments and brings us to our knees in worship and thanksgiving. To live in the present is to have a dynamic, transforming relationship with the one who loves us most.

JUDY TENELSHOF
Director of Spiritual Formation at Talbot

2019 by JOHN KOESSLER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates, Bonita Springs, Florida.

Edited by Kevin P. Emmert
Interior and cover design: Erik M. Peterson
Cover photo of clock copyright 2011 by RTimages / iStock (121031840).
All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Koessler, John, 1953- author.

Title: Practicing the present : the neglected art of living in the now / John Koessler.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019003383 (print) | LCCN 2019010164 (ebook) | ISBN 9780802497413 () | ISBN 9780802418685

Subjects: LCSH: Awareness--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Mindfulness (Psychology) | Attention--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Classification: LCC BV4598.4 (ebook) | LCC BV4598.4 .K64 2019 (print) | DDC 248.4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019003383

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1868-5
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8024-9741-3

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I m a sucker for books and movies about time travel. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, the time-traveling DeLorean in Back to the Future, and any Star Trek episode in which the crew of the starship Enterprise travels back to the twentieth centuryI love them all. But over the years, Ive learned a few important things about time travel. For example, as far as I can tell from these books and movies, backward is better than forward. When you travel back in time, you know what youre getting. The future, on the other hand, is unknown and always seems to get worse. But that doesnt mean that the past is safe. When you travel back in time, you had better not touch anything. Apparently, the smallest change can have devastating effects on the space-time continuum. You may come back to the present and find that you dont exist.

In real life, I cant travel in time, but that doesnt mean I have no interest in either the past or the future. Im often preoccupied with both. Sometimes its because Im thinking about the past, trying to understand what I have experienced and how it affects my life. Just as often Im concerned about the future. I spent most of my youth preparing for a career that is now almost over. In my job as a college professor, I have spent twenty-five years equipping students for future ministry. As a Christian, my expectation is fixed on a hope that is yet to come. Like the patriarchs, I am longing for a better, heavenly country (Heb. 11:16).